A Lesson in Obedience
by leggy-stinks
Summary: A tenyearold Estel disobeys Glorfindel and, well, let's just say, he really wishes he hadn't! What trouble does he get into? Read and find out!


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Disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this fic. They all belong to Tolkien.

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A/N : This is my first serious fic, so I really hope everybody enjoys it. I tried to make it humorous, but I don't know if I succeeded or not. It's for you all to judge. Enjoy the fic! ^_^

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A ten-year-old Estel was currently being contained inside his room, waiting until his teacher, Glorfindel, returned. He was instructed to continue his studying while Glorfindel was away. With his book open in his lap, Estel looked up and tried to recite what he just memorized. "Lord Thranduil is the ruler of Mirkwood…or wait, is it Theoden…or Theodred?!" Estel asked aloud, frustrated. "I'm so confused. Why does everyone's name in history have to be so similar?" Personally, Estel believed it was done on purpose, to make children like himself suffer while being confined to their rooms until they got it right. Estel angrily shut the book close. "It's not as if I am going to be a King, so why do I have to learn this stuff?!" young Estel shouted. In an effort to calm down, he looked outside his window. 

He saw a beautiful swallow twittering on a tree nearby. "Tweet tweet tweet" it sang. Estel cupped his ear to the window and asked, "What's that, little bird? What did you say? You're grievously injured and want me to help you? But then I will have to leave my room and Glorfindel said I am not allowed. Oh, what's that? Ada won't mind if I help you because I will be able to put the healing lessons he gave me to practice? Alright." With that, Estel opened the window and climbed down the tree with almost as much grace as an elf, completely passing the bird that supposedly needed his aid. As he ran out, he thought, _Ada will believe me. Elladan and Elrohir always talk to the trees and such, so I'm sure it's believable if I pretend I can talk to birds_. 

With that reassuring thought in mind, Estel firmly planted his feet on the ground. "Free at last!" he joyously cried, his arms spread eagle and his face gazing upward. He instantly plopped to the ground and started playing with the grass. He plucked a long blade, placed it in between his thumb, and blew on it, producing a whistling sound. When he did that, the bird that was sitting on the branch of the tree next to his bedroom came flittering towards him and sat down next to him. "Greetings once again, little bird. I must pay much gratitude to you for giving me an excuse so that I could escape from my room." The bird merely ignored him and started searching for worms in the ground. Estel sighed resignedly. _I suppose I am not truly able to talk to birds then_, he thought, a frown plastered on his face. He really wanted to be like his older brothers who could talk to nature and see much farther than him and were graceful and not clumsy like himself. Estel hung his head dejectedly. These thoughts always led him to feel inferior to his family. But then he remembered his father's words, and he could hear his father in his head telling him that they would always love him no matter what for although he is not their brother or son by blood, they are most certainly family in heart. This thought cheered him up immediately, and youthful Estel began talking to the bird once again. 

"Hmm. I suppose since you are always at my window every morning, I should name you, correct? Let's see. What name is suitable for a beautiful swallow? I assume you are a girl swallow since you are so beautiful, and there is none more beautiful than the fair Arwen evenstar, Ada's daughter and Elladan's and Elrohir's sister. Therefore, I shall name you Arwen!" Estel declared this with much enthusiasm, for never before had he had the chance to name someone, and his own pet at that, for he resolutely decided that this bird, Arwen, would be his pet now, and he would not let anyone else tell him otherwise. 

He scooped his pretty little swallow into his hand and made his way to the tree next to his bedroom window. He swiftly ascended to the top most branch where Arwen's nest was located and gently placed his bird inside it. "There you go, Arwen. Now stay there while I search the ground for some worms to feed you," he told his bird. He raised his eyes to look inside his window, and he suddenly saw Glorfindel about to enter his bedroom. "Uh-oh!" exclaimed Estel. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand. He did not want Glorfindel to discover him. _I cannot believe I completely forgot about Glorfindel. And this is the time he usually returns, so I should have remembered. Although my excuse for going outside is believable, I do not think Glorfindel will be too happy that I disobeyed his orders_,Estel thought. Just then, Glorfindel opened the window, most probably so he could loudly admonish the naughty child. 

However, Estel was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not see Glorfindel approach and he was caught unaware. He was so surprised when he saw the window opening and Glorfindel's head sticking out that he immediately lost balance and his foot slipped out from under him. Estel heard Glorfindel let out a gasp from above, and his eyes widened in shock and his chest tightened as he felt himself falling down. He was flailing his arms in the air, desperately trying to catch onto another branch but failing, finding they were too far out of his reach. 

Finally, after what felt like a hundred years to Estel, he was able to grasp onto a branch that was jutting out far enough. He was able to register Glorfindel's voice, asking Estel if he was okay. Estel looked up and saw Glorfindel hanging out the window, the fear in his eyes mirroring that of Estel's. "Glorfindel, please help me! The branch is too thick to climb onto, and I don't know if I can hold on much longer," a terrified Estel shouted to Glorfindel. "Just hang on, Estel. I will come and get you!" "Hurry!" Estel yelled to the back of a quickly retreating Glorfindel. Once he was assured that help was soon on the way, he looked down to see how far up he was in the tree. Once he saw that he was still about twenty feet from the ground, he quickly moved his gaze upward. Panic started setting in Estel's young mind, and he quickly found it very hard to breathe. He also found that his fingers were slipping from his hold around the branch, and he knew that if someone did not get here soon, he would find himself on the ground, probably dead. 

Estel's arms were quickly getting tired from hanging on so long. _Why aren't they here yet?_ he thought, feeling exasperated. To him, it felt like almost twenty minutes had passed, when in reality not even two minutes had elapsed. However, Estel's body was still young, and his arms were tiring quickly. It was too much strain for him, and in a moment, he was falling to the ground once again, but this time, there were no more branches left for him to grab. Estel let out a shrill scream when he crashed onto the ground with a sickening thud. All Estel knew then was pain. He let out a heart-wrenching scream and felt tears streaming down his face. Estel heard a twitter nearby, and loud voices full of emotion shouting "ESTEL! ESTEL!" filled his ears. He could not place any faces to these voices, for he was forced to shut his eyes tightly when his body was claimed by extreme pain. Before he blissfully slipped away into darkness, one last thought entered his mind. _If this _fall_ doesn't kill me, then _**Ada**surely **will**! 

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When Estel finally came to, he felt his body being jolted up and down, causing a groan to emerge from his mouth. He opened his eyes and found that he was being carried and cradled next to his father's chest. Estel saw Glorfindel walking next to his Ada. He then looked up and saw two identical set of worried faces belonging to his brothers peering down at him. 

Elrohir sighed in relief. "You're awake, Estel. We were so worried about you." Then Elrohir must have decided that now would be a good time to scold poor Estel, for his expression turned very sour. "Why did you disobey Glorfindel? And why in the world were you up in a tree when you know that you are not allowed up there? We keep on telling you that you are too young. When we were young like you, Elladan and I were not allowed in trees, either." Then Elladan, perhaps taking pity on his younger brother, whose lips were formed in a small pout and whose puppy dog eyes were begging him for help, decided that this was a good time for him to speak up. "That is true, dear brother, but lest you have forgotten, we have disobeyed Ada countless times when we were young and still climbed up trees like young Estel here." Ignoring the withering glare Elrohir was directing towards him, Elladan continued. "And I don't think I need to mention that we often ended up in worse conditions that Estel is in now." He ended his speech with an innocent smile. 

Estel almost laughed at this but held it in for fear of the further pain it might cause him. Instead, he opted for a grateful smile, which earned him a smile in return. Estel then turned to face Elrohir, his eyes pleading him for forgiveness. Estel saw that his brother's resolve was fading, his frown slowly turning into a smile. "Alright. Since you are in much pain now, I suppose I could hold off the lecture for a while. Besides, I am much too impressed by your courage and bravery right now to be anything but proud of you!" Elladan and Glorfindel voiced their agreement, and Lord Elrond did so vigorously. "Yes, young one. I am extremely proud of you and how you are handling the pain. I don't think even I was ever as brave as you at that young age!" 

Seeing his father beaming at him, Estel's face lit up, and his smile widened at their words of encouragement. "I love you, Ada and Elladan and Elrohir and Glorfindel! But you guys are making me smile so much that I think my face is going to burst." Everyone laughed at Estel's joke. Even Estel himself chuckled at his own joke but stopped quickly when the pain returned, a groan escaping his mouth. His brothers and father and Glorfindel looked at him with worry. But he assured them he was okay. "It only hurt a little when I laughed. It doesn't hurt anymore," he told them. After he spoke, he let out a long yawn. His father peered down at him. "You have had a very rough day. It is no wonder you are tired. Go to sleep now, and we will tend to your wounds when we get to your bedroom and when you wake up, you'll find yourself as good as now." Estel was too tired to disagree. He closed his eyes and, cuddling into his father's chest, Estel instantly fell asleep.

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Estel was slow to wake. He opened his eyes slowly and found his vision to be hazy. He blinked a couple of times until his vision cleared. Sure enough, true to his father's words, he found himself in his bedroom, his body covered in bandages. He tried to prop himself up but found that his body was resisting the movements, causing him to groan in frustration. Even if he was able to, though, his father and brothers would not allow it, for they quickly but gently pushed him back down onto his pillow. He was very surprised, for he had not seen his family when he first awoke. But when he looked around the room, he saw chairs situated in the corners, and Glorfindel was still resting in one of them. He smiled at the scene. Glorfindel looked so peaceful. _They must have been sleeping here until I awoke. But how long have I been sleeping?_ he wondered. He decided to voice his question aloud. 

"How long have I been sleeping? Not too long, for sure, for it is still light outside." "On the contrary, my dear brother," started Elrohir. "You slept through the afternoon into the night and it is now the next morning," finished Elladan. Estel was shocked. He had not realized he had been asleep for that long. His father must have noticed this, for Lord Elrond soon spoke up, addressing the reason for his shock. "It is not very surprising that you rested that long, for your body is very young. As such, the strain from the fall was too much, causing your energy to deplete and your body to shut down. The only source of replenishment for the energy that you lost was through sleep," his father explained. He had taken a sitting position in the middle of his explanation, seating himself on Estel's left. Elladan and Elrohir then sat themselves on Estel's right. They all looked upon him with affection and relief. They were clearly very worried about Estel's health. Estel felt very sorry for causing them to worry. _If only I had not disobeyed Glorfindel_, he thought. 

Suddenly, he heard a yawn coming from the corner next to his bedroom door. He and his father and brothers turned around and saw that Glorfindel was just starting to awake. "Good morning, Glorfindel," Lord Elrond greeted. "I hope you had a good sleep." Glorfindel smiled at him. "I had a very good sleep," he said. "And now that I see that our little Estel has finally awoken, I am feeling even better." Estel directed his gaze downward before speaking. "I am truly sorry for disobeying you, Glorfindel. And for causing you and Elladan and Elrohir to worry, Ada." He suddenly felt himself being hugged from all sides. "It is okay, little one," assured Glorfindel. "I realize how tempting it is to go outside when you are stuck in your room learning about history. Eru knows I've had to deal with Elladan and Elrohir, and they had just as short attention spans as you." Everyone laughed at this. Even Estel let out a full laugh and not just a chuckle, and he was very glad to find that it no longer caused him pain. His father must have given him some pain killing herbs while he was sleeping. 

Estel could see that his family and Glorfindel were very happy to hear the laughter of their little Estel once again. His father even voiced this aloud. "I'm very glad to hear you laughing again, Estel. Your laughter always manages to make me smile. And that is a very big accomplishment." Laughter once again filled the room. "True. That is a very big accomplishment, but certainly not as big as making Elrohir pass up his lecture," Elladan asserted, amusement showing through his voice. Estel, his father, and Glorfindel all nodded in agreement, while Elrohir began, "Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me about my lecture, dear brother. I nearly forgot." Both Estel and Elladan groaned upon hearing this. "I'm sorry, Estel," Elladan said, directing his sympathy-filled eyes to his younger brother. "That's alright," Estel assured him, chuckling. "You helped me before, so I forgive you now." Lord Elrond and Glorfindel laughed, amused at the brothers' interactions. Elrohir started laughing, too, and said, "Alright. I shall let you pass without a lecture this time since I think being confined in bed for two weeks is a lesson in itself." 

Estel looked at his brother with gratitude. "Oh, thank you, Elrohir. You are right. I have learned my lesson. I will never climb up a tree as long as I live," Estel promised. "Alright. As long as you are sincere," said Elrohir. "Oh, yes, I am. I really am!" Estel exclaimed. He said this last statement so enthusiastically that everyone in the room had to laugh. Once the merriment was over, Estel let out a yawn. "I see that you are tired, Estel. You're body is still recovering and you still need your rest," his father told him. "Let us all clear out of here, so Estel can get some more sleep," Lord Elrond ordered the others, ushering them out the door. On the way out, Glorfindel said, "Get well, Estel!" Estel laughed. He was always making rhymes like that. Next, it was his brothers' turns. "We love you, Estel," they said. His father with his hand on the doorknob, softly called out, "Pleasant dreams, little one." before shutting the door to Estel's bedroom. 

Estel sighed as he was left alone once again confined to his bedroom. He had to laugh at the irony of all of this. Estel had disobeyed Glorfindel so that he would be free from the confines of his bedroom just to get himself hurt and land himself in his bedroom once again when if he had just stayed in the bedroom like he had been told, he would have been out in only an hour anyway; now, he was restricted to his bedroom for a whole two weeks. _I'm so foolish_, thought Estel. _Never again will I disobey any of my elders_. 

With that thought, he looked out the window and saw Arwen sitting in her nest. "I will have to tell Ada about her when I wake up," he told himself. He let out another yawn, this one a lot longer. Estel turned to face his window so that he was laying on his side. He bid his bird, Arwen, goodnight and closed his eyes. Before Estel submitted to his subconscious, a soft "tweet tweet tweet" sounded in his ears and a soft smile lit up his face. 

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A/N : I hope you enjoyed this fic. I know I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for reading it and an extra thanks to those who review! ^_^


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